House approves legislation to extend jobless benefits

WASHINGTON — Here's how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Nov. 7.

House

EXTENDED JOBLESS BENEFITS: Voting 403 for and 12 against, the House on Nov. 5 sent President Obama a bill (HR 3548) that would provide 20 more weeks of jobless checks for those whose current allotments have expired or soon will expire and who live in states with at least 8.5 percent unemployment. The bill provides 14 additional weeks of benefits for the long-term jobless in all other states. The $2.4 billion cost would be offset by payroll-tax increases on employers. Jobless checks average $300 per week.

The bill also extends for five months an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that is set to expire Nov. 30 and increases income limits for eligibility from $150,000 to $225,000 for couples and from $75,000 to $150,000 for individuals. The bill creates a $6,500 credit for some homebuyers who already own homes.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1, Bob Etheridge, D-2, Walter Jones, R-3, David Price, D-4, Virginia Foxx, R-5, Howard Coble, R-6, Mike McIntyre, D-7, Larry Kissell, D-8, Sue Myrick, R-9, Patrick McHenry, R-10, Heath Shuler , D-11, Melvin Watt, D-12, Brad Miller, D-13

CREDIT-CARD RULES: Voting 331 for and 92 against, the House on Nov. 4 passed a bill (HR 3639) giving credit-card firms a tighter deadline for starting pro-consumer policies enacted by Congress in May. Under the bill, reforms originally required to be in place by Feb. 22, 2010, would be advanced to Dec. 1. The rationale is that the sooner the rules take effect, the easier it will be for cardholders to cope with recession.

In part, the law enacted in May requires credit-card firms to apply payments to the highest-interest portion of cardholder debt; freezes interest rates on new accounts for one year and locks in promotional rates for six months; requires 45 days' notice of rate increases; prohibits changes in contract terms until renewal; bans due-date gimmickry; allows cardholders to set personal credit limits above which transactions cannot be processed, and sets 21 as the minimum age for obtaining a card in most circumstances.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller

Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry

FEDERAL RESERVE: Voting 171 for and 253 against, the House on Nov. 4 defeated a GOP bid to allow the Federal Reserve to veto the Dec. 1 deadline in HR 3639 (above) and keep Feb. 22, 2010, as the date for starting credit-card reforms. The Fed is charged with overseeing credit cards under terms enacted by Congress.

A yes vote backed the GOP motion.

Voting yes: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry

Voting no: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller

CHEMICAL-PLANT SECURITY: Voting 230 for and 193 against, the House on Nov. 6 passed a bill (HR 2868) to permanently extend chemical-plant security requirements that otherwise would expire in October 2010. In part, the rules require some 6,000 facilities that manufacture or store chemicals to establish plans to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks, conduct background checks on employees and allow Department of Homeland Security inspections. The bill also requires public and private sewage-treatment facilities to put in place similar anti-terrorism measures.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1, Bob Etheridge, D-2, David Price, D-4, Mike McIntyre, D-7, Larry Kissell, D-8, Heath Shuler , D-11, Melvin Watt, D-12, Brad Miller, D-13

Voting no: Walter Jones, R-3, Virginia Foxx, R-5, Howard Coble, R-6, Sue Myrick, R-9, Patrick McHenry, R-10

Senate

JOBLESS BENEFITS, TAX BREAKS: Voting 98 for and none against, the Senate on Nov. 4 sent the House a bill (HR 3548, above) that would provide at least 14 more weeks of jobless checks to the long-term unemployed in all states and 20 more weeks to persons in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent.

In addition to the provisions noted above, the bill would allow large businesses to deduct net operating losses (NOLs) in five previous years, rather than two years under existing law. The bill also would allow certain small, indirect investors in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme to carry back their Madoff losses over five years.